How to Prepare for a Military Homecoming in 2020

Oct 14, 2020

This shop has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CleanHealthyBold

2020 hasn’t looked anything like I expected it to and I’m sure that’s something you can all relate to as well. Even though over two years as a military spouse has taught me to expect the unexpected and how to adapt and overcome to change, I found dealing with solo-parenting during an unexpected and extended deployment challenging. But what I didn’t expect to be a challenge was preparing for a military homecoming in 2020. There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to military life, but military homecomings in 2020 seemed to have taken the cake when it comes to how vastly different they have been over the last few months.

Our first deployment and first military homecoming looked nothing like what I was expecting. I wanted to share this post in solidarity with the other military spouses out there who may be preparing for their first military homecoming or even a military homecoming that looks way different than the ones they’ve experience before. There isn’t a one size fits all approach to how to prepare for a military homecoming, but I hope that by sharing with you a few of the things I did, with the help of Walmart and LISTERINE® ,that I can inspire you to tackle this unexpected season with grace.

How to Prepare for a Military Homecoming in 2020..... What I Actually Did:

MAKE A SHOPPING LIST FOR GROCERIES AND OTHER ESSENTIALS

One thing I wasn’t expecting about a military homecoming in 2020 was the period of quarantining afterwards. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to quarantine with your spouse at home, you’re going to want to make a shopping list and stock up on any necessary essentials well ahead of their arrival. Luckily, our local Walmart is a one-stop shop when it comes to quarantine and self-care essentials. Walmart was the perfect place for me to stock up on everything we would need for the two weeks following my husband’s return from deployment.

I made sure to stock up on personal care items like the new LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash and LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash since I knew my husband was in need of restocking his personal care essentials at the house. I figured he would love the LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash while I grabbed the LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash for myself.

LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash and LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash at Walmart!

CLEAN THE HOUSE

I see you, fellow military spouse, I didn’t really clean the house as much as I probably should have while my husband was gone either. Take a few days and break up your house into sections. Deep clean like you’ve never deep cleaned before. Your house will probably be cleaner than it’s ever been and you will feel amazing afterwards. The best part is that once you’ve cleaned the house, it’s way easier to manage tidying up while you count down the final days until your spouse returns from deployment.

DON’T FORGET TO INVEST TIME IN SOME SELF-CARE

After grocery shopping during a pandemic, cleaning every room in the house, and getting the welcome home decorations all set up, I was in need of some serious self-care. Self-care is something that is so easy to forget about when you’re stuck in a season of solo-parenting during a deployment and trying to get ready for a military homecoming. I knew I wanted to prioritize my self-care a day or so before my husband came home so that I would be looking and feeling my best on the big day.

One thing I’ve been trying to be better about now that I have a toddler is taking care of my own teeth and oral health. I love the new LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash and LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash because they are made with zero alcohol for a less intense taste. This mouthwash has a limited edition botanically-inspired flavor blend. The LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash is my personal favorite and makes it so easy to indulge your senses while freshening your breath. Better yet, LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash and LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash are both alcohol-free mouthwash containing four essential oils that help kill up to 99% of bad breath germs. Adding a mouthwash into my oral care routine has been a simple yet beneficial change to my self-care. I didn’t have to worry about my breath being fresh when it was time to see my husband at our military homecoming after 6 months of separation. It’s also so simple to use mouthwash while you’re working on other parts of your self-care routine. There’s really no excuse not to pick up one of these new LISTERINE® mouthwashes today!

Click the photo below to explore the new LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash and LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash at Walmart!

Click the photo below to explore the new LISTERINE® Coconut + Lime Blend Mouthwash and LISTERINE® Green Tea + Mint Blend Mouthwash at Walmart!

SET UP SOME WELCOME HOME DECORATIONS AND GOODIES

Decorating the house for your spouses military homecoming is one of the most exciting parts about preparing for a military homecoming in 2020. Because of our new social distancing normal and spending more time in the house, I went out of my way to get our house decorated to welcome my husband home. I even included a tub of welcome home goodies like his favorite snacks and personal care items.

CHARGE CAMERA BATTERIES

There’s a reason I’ve added charging camera batteries and making sure you have all of your equipment good to go and that’s because I totally didn’t do this when we were preparing for our military homecoming. I completely forgot to even check the camera battery and when I rushed out the door the morning I was supposed to pick up my husband, I also forgot to grab the backup. So after dragging the camera and tripod (and toddler) to the field where we were going to be reunited, I turned on the camera only to find out that the battery was dead. So our military homecoming didn’t go exactly as I had hoped and planned and the only picture I have is of my son and his dad, snapped with my iPhone. I like to think I learned this lesson the hard way so that you don’t have to.

ADJUST YOUR EXPECTATIONS

As military spouses, we know that plans are always changing. But with everything 2020 has brought us so far, learning to adjust your expectations when it comes to a military homecoming is something that we’ve had to learn quickly too. Our military homecoming wasn’t really anything like I expected it to be. The date kept getting pushed back, which I did expect, but the way the actual homecoming ceremony happened was not what I had envisioned our reunion being after all those months apart. I was crushed, honestly. That’s why I want to make sure to remind and encourage military spouses expecting a military homecoming in 2020 to adjust your expectations for what your homecoming ceremony is going to look like as well as what reintegration after deployment looks like as well.